Human intestinal microflora contains a number of bacterial species with a long studied impact on human health. Clostridium paraputrificum J4 produces an extracellular complex of enzymes degrading biopolymer chitin (contained for example in cell wall of fungi) for its nutrition. The identity, structure and synergistic function of these enzymes in biopolymer degradation together with influence on living cells have not been studied. The aim of this project is separation of chitinolytic enzymes by chromatographic techniques for further characterization, identification and structural studies. Three enzymes of the complex have been already characterized and further results are being pursued. Extracts from anaerobic bacterial cultivation are processed by ultrafiltration, ion exchange and size exclusion chromatographies, isoelectric focusing, denaturing and native electrophoreses, mass spectroscopy, light scattering, zymography, and activity assays. Purified enzymes are subjected to crystallization and three-dimensional structure analysis by X-ray crystallography.